Mostar

On arrival at the train or bus station, you may be forgiven for thinking that the beauty of MOSTAR has been somewhat exaggerated. There then begins a slow descent to the Old Town, during which it becomes more and more apparent that it really is a very special place indeed. Attentive ears will pick out rushing streams, salesmen crying their wares, as well as church bells and muezzins competing for attention, while steep, cobblestoned streets slowly wind their way down to the fast-flowing, turquoise-blue Neretva River and its Old Bridge, incredibly photogenic even when the Speedo-clad mostari – the brave gents who dive from the apex – aren’t tumbling into the waters below. The city is becoming ever more popular with tourists, though the dearth of high-end accommodation means that most visit on a day-trip – bad news for anyone on the Old Bridge around lunchtime, though great news for anyone staying the night; the best time to come is first thing in the morning or early evening.

Mostar’s history is irrevocably entwined with that of its bridge. Like hundreds of locals, this was to fall victim in 1993 when the Croats and Muslims of the town, previously united against the Serbs, turned on each other: the conflict rumbled on for two long years, each side sniping at the other from opposing hills. Locals claim that, prior to the war, more than half of the city’s marriages were mixed, but the figure has since dwindled to nothing; while relations are now much improved, the truce remains uneasy.

The Old Town, spanning both sides of the Neretva, contains most things of interest in Mostar, and in its centre is the Old Bridge, focal point of the city and the obvious place to kick off your sightseeing. On the eastern bank is the more interesting Muslim part of town, while the west is mainly home to Catholic Croats.

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The east bank

Lined with trinket stores, cobblestoned Kujundžiluk climbs uphill, soon leading to the Koski Mehmed Paša Mosque. For all its beauty, the panoply of souvenir sellers shows that tourism, rather than religious endeavour, is the current priority; eschew the 8KM it costs to climb the minaret and instead head down to the terrace where you can get superb head-on views of the bridge. Passing another mosque, the road segues quickly into modern Mostar, though pay attention to signs pointing out the Turkish House on your left, a fascinating peek into the Ottoman traditions of yesteryear. Above Kujundžiluk you’ll see the Cejvan Cehaj Mosque, Mostar’s oldest, on the way to the Museum of Herzegovina. Between the two lies a Muslim graveyard, and it’s hard not to be moved when you notice that almost everybody laid to rest here died the same year, 1993.

Old Bridge Museum

Off the eastern end of the bridge is Helebija, a tower that now accommodates the enlightening Old Bridge Museum, spread over four levels, and topped with a viewing point. Of most interest is the archeological section, where you can see some of the few remaining chunks of the bridge that weren’t swept away, alongside footage of its painstaking rebirth. There’s sobering archive footage of the bridge’s downfall in the neighbouring Old Bridge Gallery, which also stocks a superb range of books on the war and the history of Bosnia in English.

The west bank

Tara, the bridge’s western tower, was once a dungeon into which prisoners were thrown to die, either from injury, starvation or – in rainy season – drowning. It’s now the base of the diving club, and the War Photo Exhibition, an array of startling shots taken during the troubles by Kiwi photographer Wade Goddard. Just 22 at the time, Goddard spent this period with a family inside the Old Town, wandering the streets to document the hardships. A little zigzagging will bring you to the Crooked Bridge – apparently built as a warm-up for the big boy, and almost as pleasing; although it (just about) remained standing during the war, it did finally collapse in 1999 due to flooding. Further along is the Tabhana, a former bathhouse now filled with bars and restaurants. Continue to the end of the street and you’ll eventually reach Bulevar, the main road that, during the war, served as the front line – still today, the road is lined with a succession of battered buildings.

The Old Bridge

Transit point, dungeon, tourist attraction, war victim and macho launchpad, Mostar’s small, hump-backed Stari Most has led an interesting life. With tradesmen terrified by the rickety nature of its wooden predecessor and the fast-flowing Neretva below, it was built in the 1560s at the instigation of Suleyman the Magnificent. Those employed to guard the bridge were called the mostari, a term later borrowed when naming the city, and then used to describe the men who dive from the apex, 21m down into the Neretva. After 427 years in service, the bridge was strategically destroyed by Croat forces in November 1993, symbolizing the ethnic division of the city. There then began the arduous process of rebuilding it piece by piece, using new materials but following the same techniques used in its initial construction, before it reopened in 2004. The mostari are still there, day after day; they’ll try to work the crowd into shelling out an acceptable fee – typically around €25 – before taking the plunge. Join them if you dare, especially in July, when the annual diving festival marks the highlight of Mostar’s year.